2.1.2 Hard Disk Space Requirements

This section lists system requirements for Windows platforms that use the NT File System (NTFS) file systems. Oracle recommends installing Oracle components on NTFS.

The NTFS system requirements listed in this section are more accurate than the hard disk values reported by the Oracle Universal Installer Summary window. The Summary window does not include accurate values for disk space, the space required to create a database, or the size of compressed files that are expanded on the hard drive.

The hard disk requirements for Oracle Database components include 32 MB required to install Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and Oracle Universal Installer on the partition where the operating system is installed. If sufficient space is not detected, installation fails and an error message appears.

Table 2-2 lists the disk space requirements for NTFS. The starter database requires 1.03 GB of disk space. The figures in this table include the starter database. FAT32 space requirements are slightly larger.

Table 2-2 Disk Space Requirements for NTFS

Installation Type

TEMP Space

SYSTEM_DRIVE:\Program Files\Oracle

Oracle Home

Data Files *

Total

Basic Installation

125 MB

3.1 MB

905 MB

1.03 GB

2.04 GB

Advanced Installation: Enterprise Edition

125 MB

3.1 MB

905 MB **

950 MB **

1.94 GB **

Advanced Installation: Standard Edition

125 MB

3.1 MB

905 MB **

950 MB **

1.94 GB **

Advanced Installation: Personal Edition

125 MB

3.1 MB

905 MB **

950 MB **

1.94 GB **

* Refers to the contents of the admin, flash_recovery_area, and oradata directories in the ORACLE_BASE directory.

** This size can be higher depending on the installation options selected, such as languages or additional components. If you choose to install Oracle Database with automated backups enabled, include at least 2 GB extra for data file disk space.

2.1.3 Verifying Hardware Requirements

To ensure that the system meets these requirements, follow these steps:

Determine the physical RAM size. For a computer using Windows 2003, for example, double-click System in the Windows Control Panel and click the General tab. If the size of the physical RAM installed in the system is less than the required size, then you must install more memory before continuing.

Determine the size of the configured virtual memory (also known as paging file size). For a computer using Windows 2003, for example, double-click System in the Control Panel, click the Advanced tab, and click Settings in the Performance section. Then click the Advanced tab. The virtual memory is listed in the Virtual Memory section.

If necessary, see your operating system documentation for information about how to configure additional virtual memory.

Determine the amount of free disk space on the system. For a computer using Windows 2003, for example, double-click My Computer, right-click the drive where the Oracle software is to be installed, and select Properties.

Determine the amount of disk space available in the temp directory. This is equivalent to the total amount of free disk space, minus what will be needed for the Oracle software to be installed.

If there is less than 125 MB of disk space available in the temp directory, then first delete all unnecessary files. If the temp disk space is still less than 125 MB, then set the TEMP or TMP environment variable to point to a different hard drive. For a computer using Windows 2003, for example, double-click System in the Control Panel, click the Advanced tab, and click Environment Variables.

If you plan to connect to Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2) from a release of Oracle Database Client that is earlier than 10g release 2 (10.2), you will not be able to do so if the following conditions exist:

Oracle Database Client is running on the same computer as Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2).

Microsoft Windows Terminal Services is not running on the same computer as Oracle Database Client. Typically, Terminal Services is installed and configured with Microsoft Windows 2003, but on Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista, it may not be installed or enabled.

Oracle Database Client is version 8.0, 9.0–9.2.0.6, or 10.1–10.1.0.3.

Oracle Database Client is not running as Administrator.

To remedy this problem, upgrade Oracle Database Client by using the latest Oracle Database Family patchset (9.2.0.4, or 10.1.0.4 or later). You can download the patchset from the Patches and Updates section of OracleMetaLink at:

2.3Oracle Database Hardware and Software Certification

The platform-specific hardware and software requirements included in this installation guide were current at the time this guide was published. However, because new platforms and operating system software versions might be certified after this guide is published, review the certification matrix on the OracleMetaLink Web site for the most up-to-date list of certified hardware platforms and operating system versions. This Web site also provides compatible client and database versions, patches, and workaround information for bugs. The OracleMetaLink Web site is available at:

You must register online before using OracleMetaLink. After logging in, click Certify & Availability from the left-hand column. From the Product Lifecycle page, click the Certifications button. Other Product Lifecycle options include Product Availability, Desupport Notices, and Alerts.

2.3.1 Windows Telnet Services Support

Windows includes a Telnet Service that allows remote users to log on to the operating system and run console programs using the command line. Oracle supports database command line utilities such as sqlplus, sqlldr, import, and export using this feature, but does not support the database GUI tools such as Oracle Universal Installer, Database Configuration Assistant, and Oracle Net Configuration Assistant.

See Also:

For detailed information about the Windows operating systems, visit the Microsoft Web site at:

Ensure that the Telnet service is started on the Windows Services utility.

2.3.2 Windows Terminal Services and Remote Desktop Support

Oracle supports installing, configuring, and running Oracle Database through Terminal Services on all the supported Windows operating systems. If you encounter problems with the installation through Terminal Server, Oracle recommends that you try connecting to the Terminal Services console session of the server (using mstsc/console).

Oracle Services for Microsoft Transaction Server are not supported on Windows Vista. As a result, all Oracle Windows data access drivers on Windows Vista that use Oracle Services for Microsoft Transaction Server to enlist in Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) coordinated transactions cannot participate in those coordinated transactions. These data access drivers include Oracle Data Provider for .NET, Oracle Provider for OLE DB, Oracle Objects for OLE, and ODBC.

Oracle Migration Workbench is not supported on Windows Vista.

Oracle Fail Safe Server is not supported on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Oracle Fail Safe Manager Console is supported on Windows XP but not on Windows Vista.

Oracle HTTP Server is not supported on Windows Vista.

Oracle Workflow is not supported on Windows Vista.

Additional Components Supporting Windows Vista

Oracle Data Provider for .NET 10.2.0.2.20 or higher and Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET 10.2.0.2.20 or higher are certified for Microsoft Vista beginning with Oracle Data Access Components (ODAC) 10.2.0.2.21. Oracle Data Access Components bundle these products together in a single installation and is available for download from Oracle Technology Network:

These products provide support for .NET Framework 2.0 and 3.0 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 users. Oracle Data Provider for .NET for .NET Framework 1.x is already included with the Oracle Database Client and Server installations.

Note:

To install this Oracle Data Access Components 10.2.0.2.21 release on Windows Vista , do not start Oracle Universal Installer from this bundle. Instead, use the Oracle Universal Installer that has been already installed on your system using the 10.2.0.3 database media for Windows Vista.

2.3.4 Web Browser Support

The following Web browsers are supported for iSQL*Plus and Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control:

2.4 Oracle Database Network Topics

Typically, the computer on which you want to install Oracle Database is connected to the network, has local storage to contain the Oracle Database installation, has a display monitor, and has a media drive.

This section describes how to install Oracle Database on computers that do not meet the typical scenario. It covers the following topics:

2.4.1 Installing Oracle Database on DHCP Computers

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) assigns dynamic IP addresses on a network. Dynamic addressing allows a computer to have a different IP address each time it connects to the network. In some cases, the IP address can change while the computer is still connected. You can have a mixture of static and dynamic IP addressing in a DHCP system.

In a DHCP setup, the software tracks IP addresses, which simplifies network administration. This lets you add a new computer to the network without having to manually assign that computer a unique IP address. However, before installing Oracle Database onto a computer that uses the DHCP protocol, you need to install a loopback adapter to assign a local IP address to that computer.

You can install Oracle Database on a computer that has multiple IP addresses, also known as a multihomed computer. Typically, a multihomed computer has multiple network cards. Each IP address is associated with a host name; additionally, you can set up aliases for the host name. By default, Oracle Universal Installer uses the ORACLE_HOSTNAME environment variable setting to find the host name. If ORACLE_HOSTNAME is not set and you are installing on a computer that has multiple network cards, Oracle Universal Installer determines the host name by using the first name in the hosts file, typically located in SYSTEM_DRIVE:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc on supported Windows operating systems or SYSTEM_DRIVE:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc on Windows 2000.

Clients must be able to access the computer using this host name, or using aliases for this host name. To check, ping the host name from the client computers using the short name (host name only) and the full name (host name and domain name). Both must work.

Setting the ORACLE_HOSTNAME Environment Variable

To set the ORACLE_HOSTNAME environment variable:

Display System in the Windows Control Panel.

In the System Properties dialog box, click Advanced.

In the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables.

In the Environment Variables dialog box, under System Variables, click New.

In the New System Variable dialog box, enter the following information:

Variable name: ORACLE_HOSTNAME

Variable value: The host name of the computer that you want to use.

Click OK, then in the Environment Variables dialog box, click OK.

Click OK in the Environment Variables dialog box, then in the System Properties dialog box, click OK.

2.4.3 Installing Oracle Database on Computers with Multiple Aliases

A computer with multiple aliases is registered with the naming service under a single IP but with multiple aliases. The naming service resolves any of those aliases to the same computer. Before installing Oracle Database on such a computer, set the ORACLE_HOSTNAME environment variable to the computer whose host name you want to use.

2.4.4 Installing Oracle Database on Non-Networked Computers

You can install Oracle Database on a non-networked computer. If the computer, such as a laptop, is configured for DHCP and you plan to connect the computer to the network after the Oracle Database installation, perform these steps before you install Oracle Database on the non-networked computer.

Install a loopback adapter on the computer.

The loopback adapter and local IP address simulate a networked computer. If you connect the computer to the network, Oracle Database still uses the local IP and host name.

Ping the computer from itself, using only the host name and using the fully qualified name, which should be in the etc\host file.

For example, if you installed a loopback adapter on a computer called mycomputer on the mydomain.com domain, check the following:

SYSTEM_DRIVE\> ping mycomputer Ping itself using just the hostname.
Reply from 10.10.10.10 Returns local IP.SYSTEM_DRIVE:\> ping mycomputer.mydomain.com Ping using a fully qualified name.
Reply from 10.10.10.10 Returns local IP.

Note:

When you ping a computer from itself, the ping command should return the local IP address (the IP address of the loopback adapter).

If the ping command fails, contact your network administrator.

Connecting the Computer to the Network after Installation

If you connect the computer to a network after installation, the Oracle Database instance on your computer can work with other instances on the network. Remember that you must have installed a loopback adapter on your computer. Your computer can use a static IP or DHCP, depending on the network to which you are connected.

2.4.5 Installing a Loopback Adapter

When you install a loopback adapter, the loopback adapter assigns a local IP address for your computer. After you install a loopback adapter on your computer, you have at least two network adapters on your computer: your own network adapter and the loopback adapter. Oracle Database needs to have Windows using the loopback adapter as the primary adapter.

The primary adapter is determined by the order in which you installed the adapters: it is the last adapter installed. If you install additional network adapters after you install the loopback adapter, you need to deinstall the loopback adapter and reinstall it.

2.4.5.2 Installing a Loopback Adapter on Windows 2000

Windows 2000 reports on the last network adapter installed. This means that if you install additional network adapters after you install the loopback adapter, you need to remove and reinstall the loopback adapter. The loopback adapter must be the last network adapter installed on the computer.

Open System in the Control Panel, and select the Network Identification tab.

In Full computer name, make sure you see the host name and the domain name, for example, sales.us.mycompany.com.

Click Properties.

In Computer name, you should see the host name, and in Full computer name, you should see the host name and domain name. Using the previous example, the host name would be sales and the domain would be us.mycompany.com.

Click More. In Primary DNS suffix of this computer, the domain name, for example, us.mycompany.com, should appear.

Exit the System Control Panel.

2.4.5.3 Installing a Loopback Adapter on Windows 2003 or Windows XP

To install a loopback adapter on Windows 2003 or Windows XP:

Open the Windows Control Panel.

Double-click Add Hardware to start the Add Hardware wizard.

In the Welcome window, click Next.

In the Is the hardware connected? window, select Yes, I have already connected the hardware, and click Next.

In the The following hardware is already installed on your computer window, in the list of installed hardware, select Add a new hardware device, and click Next.

In the The wizard can help you install other hardware window, select Install the hardware that I manually select from a list, and click Next.

From the list of hardware types, select the type of hardware you are installing window, select Network adapters, and click Next.

In the Select Network Adapter window, make the following selections:

Manufacturer: Select Microsoft.

Network Adapter: Select Microsoft Loopback Adapter.

Click Next.

In the The wizard is ready to install your hardware window, click Next.

In the Completing the Add Hardware Wizard window, click Finish.

If you are using Windows 2003, restart your computer.

Right-click My Network Places on the desktop and choose Properties. This displays the Network Connections Control Panel.

Right-click the connection that was just created. This is usually named "Local Area Connection 2". Choose Properties.

On the General tab, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and click Properties.

In the Properties dialog box, click Use the following IP address and do the following:

IP Address: Enter a non-routable IP for the loopback adapter. Oracle recommends the following non-routable addresses:

192.168.x.x (x is any value between 0 and 255)

10.10.10.10

Subnet mask: Enter 255.255.255.0.

Record the values you entered, which you will need later in this procedure.

Leave all other fields empty.

Click OK.

Click OK.

Close Network Connections.

Restart the computer.

Add a line to the SYSTEM_DRIVE:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file with the following format, after the localhost line:

IP_addresshostname.domainnamehostname

where:

IP_address is the non-routable IP address you entered in step 16.

hostname is the name of the computer.

domainname is the name of the domain.

For example:

10.10.10.10 mycomputer.mydomain.com mycomputer

Check the network configuration:

Open System in the Control Panel, and select the Computer Name tab. In Full computer name, make sure you see the host name and the domain name, for example, sales.us.mycompany.com.

Click Change. In Computer name, you should see the hostname, and in Full computer name, you should see the host name and domain name. Using the previous example, the host name would be sales and the domain would be us.mycompany.com.

Click More. In Primary DNS suffix of this computer, you should see the domain name, for example, us.mycompany.com.

2.4.5.4 Installing a Loopback Adapter on Windows Vista

To install a loopback adapter on Windows Vista:

Open the Windows Control Panel.

Double-click Add Hardware to start the Add Hardware wizard.

In the Welcome window, click Next.

In the The wizard can help you install other hardware window, select Install the hardware that I manually select from a list, and click Next.

From the list of hardware types, select the type of hardware you are installing window, select Network adapters, and click Next.

In the Select Network Adapter window, make the following selections:

Manufacturer: Select Microsoft.

Network Adapter: Select Microsoft Loopback Adapter.

Click Next.

In the The wizard is ready to install your hardware window, click Next.

In the Completing the Add Hardware Wizard window, click Finish.

The remaining steps are same as given for Windows XP.

2.4.5.5 Removing a Loopback Adapter

To remove a loopback adapter:

Display System in the Windows Control Panel.

In the Hardware tab, click Device Manager.

In the Device Manager window, expand Network adapters. You should see Microsoft Loopback Adapter.

This section describes the storage options for storing Oracle data files and, optionally, Oracle database recovery files. After you choose the storage method that you want to use for each file type, use the following sections to configure the required storage:

2.5.1.1 Choosing a Storage Option for Oracle Data Files

If you want to create a database during the installation, you must choose one of the following storage options for the data files:

File system

Automatic Storage Management

2.5.1.2 Choosing a Storage Option for Oracle Database Recovery Files

If you want to enable automated backups during the installation, you must choose one of the following storage options for recovery files (the flash recovery area):

File system

Automatic Storage Management

The storage option that you choose for recovery files can be the same as or different to the option you choose for the data files.

2.5.1.3 Configuring Disk Storage

For more information about these options, see the "Database Storage Options" section. For information about how to configure disk storage before you start the installation, see one of the following sections depending on your choice:

2.5.2.1 Guidelines for Placing Oracle Data Files on a File System

You can choose either a single file system or more than one file system to store the data files:

If you want to use a single file system, choose a file system on a physical device that is dedicated to the database.

For best performance and reliability, choose a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) device or a logical volume on more than one physical device and implement the stripe and mirror everything (SAME) methodology.

If you want to use more than one file system, choose file systems on separate physical devices that are dedicated to the database.

Select this method to distribute physical I/O and create separate control files on different devices for increased reliability. It also enables full implementation of the Optimal Flexible Architecture guidelines described in Appendix C, "Optimal Flexible Architecture". You must choose either the Advanced database creation option or the Custom installation type during the installation to implement this method.

If you intend to create a preconfigured database during the installation, the file system (or file systems) that you choose must have at least 950 MB of free disk space.

For production databases, you must estimate the disk space requirement depending how you plan to use database.

For optimum performance, the file systems that you choose should be on physical devices that are used only by the database.

The default location suggested by Oracle Universal Installer for the database file directory is a subdirectory of the Oracle base directory. However, this default location is not recommended for production databases.

2.5.2.2 Guidelines for Placing Oracle Recovery Files on a File System

Note:

You must choose a location for recovery files only if you intend to enable automated backups during the installation.

If you place the Oracle recovery files on a file system, use the following guidelines when deciding where to place them:

To prevent disk failure from making both the data files and the recovery files unavailable, place the recovery files in a file system on a different physical disk from the data files.

Note:

Alternatively, for both data files and recovery files, use an Automatic Storage Management disk group.

The file system that you choose should have at least 2 GB of free disk space.

The disk space requirement is the default disk quota configured for the flash recovery area (specified by the DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST_SIZE initialization parameter).

If you choose the Custom installation type or the Advanced database configuration option, you can specify a different disk quota value. After you create the database, you can also use Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control or Database Control to specify a different value.

See Also:

Oracle Backup and Recovery Basics for more information about the flash recovery area

The default location suggested by Oracle Universal Installer for the database file directory is a subdirectory of the Oracle base directory. However, this default location is not recommended for production databases.

2.5.2.3 Creating Required Directories

Note:

You must complete this procedure only if you want to place the Oracle database or recovery files on a separate file system from the Oracle base directory.

To create directories for the Oracle database or recovery files on separate file systems from the Oracle base directory, follow these steps:

Use Windows Explorer to determine the free disk space on the file system.

From the display, identify the file systems that you want to use:

File Type

File System Requirements

Data files

Choose either:

A single file system with at least 950 MB of free disk space.

Two or more file systems with at least 950 MB of free disk space in total.

Recovery files

Choose a file system with at least 2 GB of free disk space.

If you are using the same file system for more than one type of file, add the disk space requirements for each type to determine the total disk space requirement.

Note the names of the directories for the file systems that you identified.

If you plan to use Automatic Storage Management (ASM) to manage database files for your databases, use the procedures in this section to prepare disk groups before you install an Automatic Storage Management instance.

To identify the storage requirements for using Automatic Storage Management, you must determine how many devices and the amount of free disk space that you require. To complete this task, follow these steps:

You do not have to use the same storage mechanism for data file and recovery files. One storage mechanism can use the file system while the other uses Automatic Storage Management. If you plan to use Automatic Storage Management for both data files and recovery files, you should create separate ASM disk groups for the data files and the recovery files.

If you plan to enable automated backups during the installation, you can choose Automatic Storage Management as the storage mechanism for recovery files by specifying an ASM disk group for the flash recovery area. Depending how you choose to create a database during the installation, you have the following options:

If you select an installation method that runs Oracle Database Configuration Assistant in interactive mode, by choosing the Advanced database configuration option for example, then you can decide whether you want to use the same ASM disk group for data files and recovery files, or you can choose to use different disk groups for each file type. Ideally, you should create separate ASM disk groups for data files and recovery files.

The same choice is available to you if you use Oracle Database Configuration Assistant after the installation to create a database.

If you select an installation type that runs Oracle Database Configuration Assistant in noninteractive mode, then you must use the same ASM disk group for data files and recovery files.

Decide on the Automatic Storage Management redundancy level that you want to use for each Automatic Storage Management disk group you will create.

The redundancy level that you choose for the Automatic Storage Management disk group determines how ASM mirrors files in the disk group and determines the number of disks and amount of disk space that you require. The redundancy levels are as follows:

External redundancy

An external redundancy disk group requires a minimum of one disk device. The effective disk space in an external redundancy disk group is the sum of the disk space in all of its devices.

Because Automatic Storage Management does not mirror data in an external redundancy disk group, Oracle recommends that you use only RAID or similar devices that provide their own data protection mechanisms as disk devices in this type of disk group.

Normal redundancy

In a normal redundancy disk group, by default Automatic Storage Management uses two-way mirroring for data files and three-way mirroring for control files, to increase performance and reliability. Alternatively, you can use two-way mirroring or no mirroring. A normal redundancy disk group requires a minimum of two failure groups (or two disk devices) if you are using two-way mirroring. The effective disk space in a normal redundancy disk group is half the sum of the disk space in all of its devices.

For most installations, Oracle recommends that you use normal redundancy disk groups.

High redundancy

In a high redundancy disk group, Automatic Storage Management uses three-way mirroring to increase performance and provide the highest level of reliability. A high redundancy disk group requires a minimum of three disk devices (or three failure groups). The effective disk space in a high redundancy disk group is one-third the sum of the disk space in all of its devices.

While high redundancy disk groups do provide a high level of data protection, you must consider the higher cost of additional storage devices before deciding to use this redundancy level.

Determine the total amount of disk space that you require for the data files and recovery files.

Use the following table to determine the minimum number of disks and the minimum disk space requirements for the installation:

Redundancy Level

Minimum Number of Disks

Data Files

Recovery FIles

Both File Types

External

1

1.15 GB

2.3 GB

3.45 GB

Normal

2

2.3 GB

4.6 GB

6.9 GB

High

3

3.45 GB

6.9 GB

10.35 GB

If an ASM instance is already on the system, you can use an existing disk group to meet these storage requirements. If necessary, you can add disks to an existing disk group during the installation.

The following step describes how to identify existing disk groups and determine the free disk space that they contain.

Optionally identify failure groups for the ASM disk group devices.

Note:

You need to complete this step only if you intend to use an installation method that runs Oracle Database Configuration Assistant in interactive mode, for example, if you intend to choose the Custom installation type or the Advanced database configuration option. Other installation types do not allow you to specify failure groups.

If you intend to use a normal or high redundancy disk group, you can further protect your database against hardware failure by associating a set of disk devices in a custom failure group. By default, each device comprises its own failure group. However, if two disk devices in a normal redundancy disk group are attached to the same SCSI controller, the disk group becomes unavailable if the controller fails. The controller in this example is a single point of failure.

To avoid failures of this type, you could use two SCSI controllers, each with two disks, and define a failure group for the disks attached to each controller. This configuration would enable the disk group to tolerate the failure of one SCSI controller.

Note:

If you define custom failure groups, you must specify a minimum of two failure groups for normal redundancy disk groups and three failure groups for high redundancy disk groups.

If you are sure that a suitable disk group does not exist on the system, install or identify appropriate disk devices to add to a new disk group. Use the following guidelines when identifying appropriate disk devices:

All of the devices in an ASM disk group should be the same size and have the same performance characteristics.

Do not specify more than one partition on a single physical disk as a disk group device. Automatic Storage Management expects each disk group device to be on a separate physical disk.

Although you can specify a logical volume as a device in an Automatic Storage Management disk group, Oracle does not recommend their use. Logical volume managers can hide the physical disk architecture, preventing Automatic Storage Management from optimizing I/O across the physical devices.

If you want to use Automatic Storage Management as the storage option for either database or recovery files, and an existing Automatic Storage Management disk group exists, you have the following choices, depending on the installation method that you select:

If you select an installation method that runs Oracle Database Configuration Assistant in interactive mode, by choosing the Advanced database configuration option for example, you can decide whether you want to create a new disk group or use an existing one.

The same choice is available to you if you use Oracle Database Configuration Assistant after the installation to create a database.

If you select an installation type that runs Oracle Database Configuration Assistant in noninteractive mode, you must choose an existing disk group for the new database. You cannot create a new disk group. However, you can add disk devices to an existing disk group if it has insufficient free space for your requirements.

Note:

The Automatic Storage Management instance that manages the existing disk group can be running in a different Oracle home directory.

To determine whether an existing ASM disk group exists, or to determine whether there is sufficient disk space in a disk group, you can use Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control or Database Control. Alternatively, you can use the following procedure:

In the Services Control Panel, make sure that the OracleASMService+ASM service has started.

Open a Windows command prompt and temporarily set the ORACLE_SID environment variable to specify the appropriate value for the ASM instance that you want to use.

For example, if the ASM SID, which is named +ASM, is located in the asm directory, you would enter the following setting:

SYSTEM_DRIVE:\> set ORACLE_SID = +ASM

Connect to the ASM instance as the SYS user with the SYSDBA privilege and start the instance if necessary:

SYSTEM_DRIVE:\> sqlplus sys/SYS_password as sysdba
SQL> STARTUP

Enter the following command to view the existing disk groups, their redundancy level, and the amount of free disk space in each one:

SQL> SELECT NAME,TYPE,TOTAL_MB,FREE_MB FROM V$ASM_DISKGROUP;

From the output, identify a disk group with the appropriate redundancy level and note the free space that it contains.

If necessary, install, or identify the additional disk devices required to meet the storage requirements listed in the previous section.

Note:

If you are adding devices to an existing disk group, Oracle recommends that you use devices that have the same size and performance characteristics as the existing devices in that disk group.

2.5.3.4 Step 3: Creating DAS or SAN Disk Partitions for an ASM Instance

In order to use a DAS or SAN disk in Automatic Storage Management, the disk must have a partition table. Oracle recommends creating exactly one partition for each disk containing the entire disk.

Note:

You can use any physical disk for Automatic Storage Management, as long as it is partitioned. You cannot use NAS or Microsoft dynamic disks, however.

To create disk partitions, use the disk administration tools provided by the operating system or third party vendors. The following administration tools are provided by the operating system:

The graphical user interface Disk Management snap-in to manage disks.

To access this tool, type diskmgmt.msc at the command prompt. Alternatively, from the Start menu, select Programs, then Administrative Tools, then Computer Management. Then select the Disk Management node in the Storage tree.

On Windows Vista, create primary partitions and logical drives in extended partitions by selecting the New Simple Volume option. To create a raw device, select Do not assign a drive letter or drive path. To mount the raw device, assign and remove a drive letter. Do not use spanned volumes or striped volumes. These options will convert the volume to a dynamic disk. Automatic Storage Management does not support dynamic disks.

The command line tool diskpart.exe, which lets you create primary partitions, extended partitions, and logical drives.

diskpart.exe is supported on Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. This tool is not included with the Windows 2000 operating system. You can download it from the Microsoft Windows 2000 Resource Kit. The examples in this section use diskpart.exe.

To access this tool, enter diskpart.exe at the command prompt. The syntax for using diskpart.exe for the procedures in this section is as follows:

sizen is the size of the partition, for example 500 represents 500 MB.

See Also:

The online help or documentation for the administration tool you are using

You can enter the diskpart.exe commands directly at the command line; alternatively, you can enter the commands in a text file, and then run diskpart /s using this file as a script.

In 32-bit Windows, you cannot create more than four primary disk partitions on disk. If you need more, you can get around this limitation by creating three primary partitions and then creating the fourth partition as an extended partition with as many logical partitions within as you need.

For example, to create the disk partitions on Disk 5 and assign them each a size:

To use Automatic Storage Management with direct attached storage (DAS) or storage area network (SAN) storage, the disks must be stamped with a header. If you install Oracle Database in interactive mode, Oracle Universal Installer configures the disks' headers during the installation process. However, if you plan to install Oracle Database in noninteractive mode, you need to manually configure the disks before installation by using either asmtoolg (GUI version) or asmtool (command-line version). You can also use these tools to reconfigure the disks later on after installation. The asmtoolg and asmtool utilities only work on partitioned disks—you cannot use Automatic Storage Management on unpartitioned disks.

The asmtoolg and asmtool tools associate meaningful, persistent names with disks to facilitate using those disks with Automatic Storage Management. Automatic Storage Management uses disk strings to more easily operate on groups of disks at once, so the names that asmtoolg or asmtool creates make this easier than using Windows drive letters.

All disk names created by asmtoolg or asmtool begin with the prefix ORCLDISK followed by a user-defined prefix (the default is DATA) and a disk number for identification purposes. You can use them as raw devices in the Automatic Storage Management instance by specifying a name \\.\ORCLDISKprefixn where prefix can be either DATA or a value you supply, and n represents the disk number.

Using the asmtoolg Tool (Graphical User Interface)

The asmtoolg tool is a graphical interface for creating device names. Use asmtoolg to add, change, delete, and examine the devices available for use in Automatic Storage Management.

If Oracle Database is already installed, go to ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin and double-click asmtoolg.

Select the Add or change label option, then click Next.

The asmtoolg tool will show the devices available on the system. Unrecognized disks are labeled as "Candidate device", raw device files as "Oracle raw device file", stamped Automatic Storage Management disks as "Stamped ASM disk", and unstamped Automatic Storage Management disks as "Unstamped ASM disks." The tool also shows disks that are recognized by Windows as a file system (such as NTFS). These are not available for use as disks and cannot be selected. In addition, Microsoft Dynamic disks are not available for use as ASM disks.

Automatic Storage Management can generate unique stamps for all of the devices selected for a given prefix. The stamps are generated by concatenating a number with the prefix specified. For example, if the prefix is DATA, then the first Automatic Storage Management link name is ORCLDISKDATA0.

The delete option is only available if disks exist with stamps. The delete window shows all stamped Automatic Storage Management disks.

In the Delete Stamps window, select the disks to unstamp.

Click Next.

Click Finish.

Using the asmtool Utility (Command Line)

The asmtool utility is a command-line interface for stamping disks. It has the following options:

Option

Description

Example

-add

Adds or changes stamps. You must specify the hard disk, partition, and new stamp name. If the disk is a raw device or has an existing Automatic Storage Management stamp, then you must specify the -force option. Also sets ASM instances to rescan the available disks.

Adds or changes stamps using a common prefix to generate stamps automatically. The stamps are generated by concatenating a number with the prefix specified. If the disk is a raw device or has an existing Automatic Storage Management stamp, then you must specify the -force option. Also sets ASM instances to rescan the available disks

List available disks. The stamp, windows device name, and disk size in megabytes are shown. Some disks may be file systems, and cannot be stamped. If the disk is a raw device or has an existing ASM stamp, then you must specify the -force option.

asmtool -list [-force]

-delete

Removes existing stamps from disks. Also sets ASM instances to rescan the available disks

asmtool -delete ORCLDISKASM0 ORCLDISKASM1...

2.5.4 Stopping Existing Oracle Services

Note:

If you are installing additional Oracle Database components in an existing Oracle home, stop all processes running in the Oracle home. You must complete this task to enable Oracle Universal Installer to relink certain executables and libraries.

If you choose to create a database during the installation, most installation types configure and start a default Oracle Net listener using TCP/IP port 1521 and the IPC key value EXTPROC. However, if an existing Oracle Net listener process is using the same port or key value, Oracle Universal Installer can only configure the new listener; it cannot start it. To ensure that the new listener process starts during the installation, you must shut down any existing listeners before starting Oracle Universal Installer.

2.5.5 Oracle Advanced Security Requirements

Satisfy hardware and software requirements so that you can use authentication support with Oracle components. Some Oracle Advanced Security components can use a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory such as Oracle Internet Directory.

See Also:

Oracle Advanced Security Administrator's Guide

2.5.6 Oracle Enterprise Manager Requirements

All Oracle Enterprise Manager products must be the same release. Older versions of Enterprise Manager are not supported with the new release.

Note:

All Oracle Enterprise Manager products, except Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control and the Enterprise Manager Java Console, are released on the Enterprise Manager Grid Control installation media. Enterprise Manager Database Control is available on the Oracle Database installation media and Enterprise Manager Java Console is available on the Oracle Client installation media.

See Also:

Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control Installation and Basic Configuration available on the Enterprise Manager Grid Control installation media

2.5.7 Oracle-Managed Files Requirements

If you choose the Custom installation type or the Advanced database creation option, you can use the Oracle-managed files feature with the new database. If you use this feature, you need only specify the database object name instead of file names when creating or deleting database files. Configuration procedures are required to enable Oracle Managed Files.

See Also:

"Using Oracle-Managed Files" in Oracle Database Administrator's Guide

2.5.8 Oracle Real Application Clusters

If you plan to install Oracle Real Application Clusters, you must first install Oracle Clusterware.